The present invention relates to a mechanical arm having an end effector mounted at the remote end of the mechanical arm and, more specifically, to a toy or a game which involves picking up objects.
Small mechanical arms or robot arms used as a toy or game element have been known for some time. Frequently electric motors and gears are used to operate the mechanical arm. Thus they tend to be slow, noisy, complicated, require an electrical power source, and the operator does not receive end effector feedback from the controls.
Linkages have been used as elements of robot arms and their disadvantages may comprise the following: force applied by arm drive means to mechanical arm greatly varies over the range of motion, and the linkages cause dangerous pinch points for fingers.
Sheathed control cables have been used in mechanical arms to bypass the articulated arm joints and their disadvantages may include the following: unsecured cable housing allows play in the control cable, they create dangerous pinch points, and cable housing may become kinked or tangled.
Simple mechanical arms have been used such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,164 and their disadvantages may comprise the following: limited range of movement, can not be used for a variety of games and activities.